My post the other day on Snapchat had a lot of my friends saying they don’t get Snapchat, the UX is terrible on Snapchat, they don’t know how to use Snapchat as well as a whole lot of other reasons not to use Snapchat.
So here’s a couple of thoughts we need to remember:
Blogging was weird when it first arrived
Twitter was strange to understand
Mobile phones were seen as un necessary and egotistical in the 1980’s and early 1990’s
Selfies were an unimaginable phenomenon
Texting instead of talking seems entirely backwards
There are many other examples we could mention, but it is clear that our tech based world constantly surprises us with new tools and interactions. They seem strange at first, but once we understand them, there is usually a human impact deep underneath them. A human inspiration that only makes sense once we participate.
Blogging: We finally have a voice. We have expertise that can be shared and we trust each other more than mainstream media.
Twitter: A great way to follow what you care about, share succinct messages and point people to news and issues that matter – thrown in with a bit of promoting your own work.
Mobile Phones: Immediate communication which reduces risk and increases efficiency.
Selfies: Basic human need for acceptance, and people to like you.
Texting: Wanting to keep the communication shorter than a conversation. Ability to communicate at a time when noise of talking might be inappropriate.
And so to with Snapchat. We’ll work out the value for ourselves when we adopt it. It clearly has value given the wisdom of crowds who’ve already ordained it. But like all the other tools above, there is a learning curve to go up. It’s not a question of it being useless or too tricky to use, it’s more a question of wanting to learn the tools of the world you live in. And lucky for us, that is merely a google search away or a few minutes watching a Youtube video.